Cute, Cool and Available!
The SPLICE Interview

Photographs by Deborah Feingold
SPLICE Magazine
September 1998

Ask
any member of the cast or crew of 21 Jump Street
and they'll tell you: The only word to describe Johnny Depp is
"cool." It
seems, in fact, that he is the coolest creature
to hit the small screen since "the Fonz" strutted his stuff
on Happy Days. Johnny Depp is the King of
Cool, the
valedictorian of the Cool School, and everybody knows it. Everybody,
that is, except Johnny Depp.

The
handsome 25-year-old actor—who's blessed with high chiseled
cheekbones, courtesy of his Cherokee heritage—is so unimpressed with
his own celebrity status that he denies he is the star of 21
Jump
Street. He says his character is the "strong center"
of the show. On a recent trip to New York City, Johnny was surprised
when he was asked to sit backstage in the Green Room to watch a
taping of Late Night with David Letterman, because
David
doesn't allow celebrities in the TV audience. And what celebrity
worth his weight in dark shades would actually convince his mother
and stepfather to move to Vancouver, Canada, so they could be closer
to him?

Johnny
was born in Owensboro, Kentucky on June 9, 1963. The youngest of
four children, he and his family moved to Miramar, Florida, where
Johnny did most of his growing up. After experimenting with drugs
and petty crime for a short while, Johnny dropped out of high school
at the age of 16--a move he now admits was not one of his wisest. He's
now openly opposed to all drugs, and tells his fans so in public
service announcements.

While
still a teenager, Johnny formed a rock and roll band called The Kids,
which had a small but loyal following in Florida. They were
impressive enough to open in concert for such heavy hitters as the
Talking Heads and The Pretenders. Armed with an electric guitar,
Johnny and The Kids headed for Los Angeles, seeking fame, fortune,
and a recording contract. Unfortunately, the going was
a little
tough. The Kids were not reaching musical maturity, and Johnny was
forced to accept a job selling ball-point pens over the telephone to
make enough money to live and play in L.A.

It
was during this period that Johnny got married and divorced. Life
was looking grim until a friend of Johnny's (actor Nicolas Cage, of
Moonstruck fame) suggested that he try his hand at
acting. Johnny met with Nicolas' agent, who convinced him to audition
for A
Nightmare on Elm Street. The rest, as they say, is cinematic
history. Johnny landed the lead male role, and decided to focus his
ambitions on acting for a while.

Johnny's
screen presence caught the attention of Oliver Stone, who cast him in
the Oscar-winning Platoon, as Lerner, the unit's
interpreter. Johnny soon landed parts in Private Resort,
Dummies and
Slow Burn (with Eric Roberts and Beverly D'Angelo),
and he
guest-starred on TV's Hotel and Blue Lady.

21
Jump Street's baby-faced Officer Tommy Hanson now lives in
Vancouver, where he films his hip detective series (he also maintains
an apartment in Hollywood). Proud to be involved with such a
socially-aware production, Johnny recently spoke to SPLICE about his
acting career, his past and present, and his life in the public eye. At
the time of this writing, Johnny has no serious love interest in
his life . . . he's unattached and looking for the right girl.

How
did you get started in acting?

It
was really a fluke. It was divine intervention. When I moved to
L.A., one of my buddies introduced me to Nicolas Cage, and he
introduced me to his agent. She sent me to read for Nightmare.
It was so strange. I'd never
done drama before, not even
in high
school. All of a sudden, I'm talking to my family on the phone and
saying, “Hi, how are you? I think I just got a part in a
feature
film.”

What's
the best part of working on 21 Jump Street?

The
great thing about doing the show is the responses we get from people
from the public service announcements we do. We try to broadcast
1-800 service numbers on specific subjects, but if it's a light show,
there's no sense in running one. And the response to the public
service announcements has been great. For instance, we did a show
about a kid who had a problem with drugs. After we ran a drug-abuse
hotline number, the number of calls they received shot right up!

How
did you land the role of Lerner in Platoon?

I
found out about Platoon in January of 1986, when my
agent sent
me over a script. I read it and I was just blown away! It was so
right on the money as far as truth and honesty goes. I met Oliver
Stone and he said, "I want you to read this. Go out in the hall
and study it." So I studied it and came back in and read for
him. He said, "Okay, let's call your agent."

Tell
us about the training you went through for Platoon.

We
went through two weeks of training in the jungle in the Philippines. I
gotta tell you, man, it was highly emotional. You put 30 guys in
the jungle and leave them there to stay together for two weeks—just
like a real platoon—and you build a real tightness. It's almost
like a family. We became a military unit, a platoon. To this day,
whenever I talk to Charlie [Sheen] or any of the other guys, it's
just like the same deal. We still get together all the time and try
to hang out as much as possible, and it takes us right back to the
platoon.

How
do you feel about your "bad boy" image?

That
sort of thing's gotten a little out of hand. I run into people who
think I've done time [in jail] or something. When I was a kid, I was
just like any other boy.Boys
are very curious, they like to push
the walls, you know? I
wasn't the best kid in the world, but I
wasn't an ax murderer either. As a
kid, I experimented
with drugs
and stuff, but I got out of it by the time I was 14 or 15. I saw
that it was getting me nowhere. I saw the kids around me, not doing
anything, not wanting to change their lives. I didn't want to be
like that. I wanted to continue with my music, and I knew the drugs
were holding me back. I'd seen a lot of ugly things. It's just not
worth it.

What
are your plans for the future?

I
definitely want to do a feature film as soon as I get done with this
season of 21 Jump Street. If I don't do a film, I
want to do
a play. But I want to continue working. I want to keep growing and
learning as much as possible. I want to fill myself in on all
aspects of the industry--acting and directing.

What
advice you have for young people today?

My
advice would be to stay in school, because I didn't and it was kind
of a mistake. It was a stupid thing to do, dropping out. So my
advice would be to learn as much as you can, and when you get out of
school, continue to learn as much as you can. Just try and always do
the right thing. Follow your instincts. Learn, make mistakes, and
learn even more from your mistakes.

Do
you still play rock and roll?

I
still play, but when I got my first movie, A Nightmare On Elm
Street, things just sort of fell apart for the band. We split
up, and everybody went their own way. Then I joined a band called
the Rock City Angels.

Are
you going to do a solo album?

I
would love to play. But people know me now as an actor. I'd do
anything to be on stage again, but I've got to be very careful. I
don't want people to say, "Oh great, another actor is going to
do a record." I'm
trying to fight the teen idol image, so if I
went and did a record, it would make it that much more difficult.

What
kind of music do you listen to?

I
listen to a lot of [Bob] Dylan, who I like a lot. I like Bruce
Springsteen. I like T. Rex. I like all different kinds of music. One
minute I'll be listening to Benny Goodman and the next I'll be
listening to the Sex Pistols!

Tell
us about your family.

My
dad works for the city of Hallendale in South Florida. He's the
director of public works and utilities, a city engineer. My mom
moved up to Vancouver with her new husband. I have two older
sisters, Debbie and Christi. And I have an older brother Danny who
lives in Kentucky. We're all incredibly close.

What
are you doing during your break?

Coming
off the show and doing features, definitely changes the films I want
to do. I'm going to do everything I can—fight tooth and nail—to
not be put in some teen-idol category. I don't want somebody who's
writing out checks to limit me, to put me in a herd of people who can
only do one thing. I don't want to be limited by other people's
opinions. I don't necessarily want to always play the leading
man—I'd like to shave my head and sew my eyeballs shut. It would be
terrible to just do teen exploitation films. It just wouldn't be
worth it.